Tiafoe and Shelton meet for a place in the US Open final

Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton will play for a place in the US Open men’s singles final Friday night, with their all-American semifinal scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The winner will move one match away from the title. Both have already survived the kind of quarterfinal that could have ended their tournament: Tiafoe recovered from two sets down against Alex Michelsen, while Shelton outlasted defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a match that finished at 3:33 a.m.

Shelton, seeded eighth, leads their overall head-to-head 3–1, according to the tournament’s official reporting. Their two previous US Open meetings are split. Shelton won the 2023 quarterfinal; Tiafoe answered in the third round in 2024.

That 2024 match required five sets. Tiafoe won 4–6, 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–3, taking the final two sets after losing the third-set tiebreak. Their return to the same stadium now comes with a bigger immediate prize: a first US Open final for the winner.

Watch the tournament’s official highlights of Tiafoe’s quarterfinal comeback this week:

Tiafoe, the No.11 seed, beat Michelsen 5–7, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(6). He had fallen behind 3–0 in the third set before turning the match around. The victory put him in a US Open semifinal for the third time.

Shelton’s route was just as demanding. He beat Alcaraz 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7), closing the match with an ace. The finish was the latest in US Open history, leaving recovery as part of the preparation for Friday’s contest.

The previous results establish how little room either player has had to relax. They also leave a clear distinction between reaching this stage and winning it: neither quarterfinal escape gives its author an advantage on Friday’s scoreboard.

The semifinal follows the afternoon meeting between Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov. By the end of the night, one of the two Americans will have earned the chance to play for the championship. Their recent meetings in New York suggest that earning it may require another long evening.